OKC versus Toronto - Tuesday, November 6th

The worst thing that can happen to this Thunder season is something thatís reared its head in every single game thus far. Thatís egos creeping in and causing players to believe theyíre better than. Tonight, much like the first two nights of the 2012-13 season, there was a ton of barking among Thunder players. At the end of the first quarter, Thabo Sefolosha and Russell Westbrook had to be separated from exchanging words as they walked to the bench. It was a show of anger that surprisingly was also seen from the same two as they walked off the court at halftime Friday night. Later, Durant chewed out Serge Ibaka for failing to grab a rebound. And of course there was the usual head-shaking between Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins whenever the paint went left unprotected. The problem is everyone has an opinion and everyone is sharing it. It canít be that way. There should be two voices on the court. Durantís. And Westbrookís. Everyone else needs to fall in line. Whatís happening now is that everyone is acting like they know best, almost like theyíre the reason for the teamís success, like their poop doesnít stink and the manís next to them does. And you canít help but wonder how much of the attitude has to do with last yearís success and whether it will soon subside or only fester and grow fangs.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to a slow start, but newcomer Kevin Martin isn't.

Neither is Martin's former backcourt mate, Kyle Lowry, who is also making quite an impression with his new team.

Off to their worst start since relocating from Seattle, the Thunder close out a three-game homestand Tuesday night when the Toronto Raptors try to build on their first victory.

Acquired Oct. 27 in the deal that sent James Harden to Houston, Martin has given the Thunder (1-2) a legitimate third scoring option behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Martin is 12 of 17 from 3-point range and is averaging 20.7 points off the bench after making six 3s and finishing with a team-best 28 points in Sunday's 104-95 loss to Atlanta.

Martin's production is a positive sign, but the Thunder need to take better care of the ball after their 21 turnovers led to 31 Hawks points.

"We know there is a lot of work to be done and we're going to do it," coach Scott Brooks, whose team also allowed 12 offensive rebounds, told the Thunder's official website. "They know that tomorrow we come back at 11 o'clock and watch some film and try to figure out a few things that we should have done better and go from there."

The Thunder, who opened with five consecutive wins last season, will need to figure out a way to contain Lowry. The Raptors' new point guard leads the team in scoring (23.7 ppg), rebounds (7.3) and assists (7.0).

Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each scored 22 points and grabbed seven boards in Sunday's 105-86 home win over Minnesota.

"He's a very good player and he really gets them going," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said of Lowry, who was Martin's teammate in Houston the last two-plus seasons.

Lowry has also been getting the job done on the defensive side, recording 11 of the team's 29 steals. He and DeRozan both had three on Sunday.

"We took a little step forward tonight," coach Dwane Casey said. "We had a lot more possessions because of the (24 Minnesota) turnovers."

Durant, meanwhile, is among the league's worst with 5.3 turnovers per game after committing six for the second consecutive game Sunday.

"I wish I could have had a couple of those turnovers back," said Durant, who is averaging 22.7 points and 14.3 boards.

Toronto (1-2) is among the league's best with 11.7 turnovers per contest.

The Raptors are also among the NBA leaders in first-quarter scoring with an average of 28.3 points. Toronto is 9 for 16 from beyond the arc in that period.

That kind of early production could cause problems for an Oklahoma City team that trailed by eight after 12 minutes against the Hawks.

"We can't start the game off in cruise mode. We've got to go take it," Durant said. "A team's not going to just let us feel our way into the game."

The Thunder, who didn't lose their third game last season until their 15th contest, haven't dropped two straight in the regular season since snapping a season-worst three-game skid April 8 with a 91-75 home win over Toronto.

The Fans chose Raps Vs OKC! The US fans be recognizing us. We gotta show em how boss we are

Lowry and Derozan are going to have tough games vs. Westbrook/Sefolosha. Both are gonna be under pressure throughout the whole game. Lowry trying to guard the aggressive Westbrook, and Derozan trying to score on one of the best perimeter defenders, Sefolosha.

This should be a good game. We really have to take advantage of the turnover we get. With Westbrook and Durant there should be a couple from each. This is a very pivotal road game. If we get this W the confidence of this team will go through the roof and that's what you need on the road. Belief you can win. I agree Bargnani has to show up. He either has to get Serge in foul trouble or be draining jumpers so he cant sag off.

This should be a good game. We really have to take advantage of the turnover we get. With Westbrook and Durant there should be a couple from each. This is a very pivotal road game. If we get this W the confidence of this team will go through the roof and that's what you need on the road. Belief you can win. I agree Bargnani has to show up. He either has to get Serge in foul trouble or be draining jumpers so he cant sag off.

If Toronto can force OKC to play one-on-one, and shoot contested jump-shots, the Raptors can take advantage and run down their throats. BUT, the Raps can't turn the ball over either for they're so good in the open court as well.

I already thought the Raps would be able to pull off this upset and after reading this it gives me a little more confidence in that. If the Raps can get off to a quick start and continue to take care of the ball like they have they can make this a contest. I'm just hoping this isn't the game where the Thunder just put everything together and dominate.

Absolutely. As a wise man once said (RE: Scalabrini) "You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him." And that's exactly what we should be thinking about KD. As far as I'm concerned, McGuire needs to finish the game with the EXACT same minutes played as KD down to the seconds. He's the only one with the footspeed to keep up, and it's not like were losing a ton of offence with Fields off the floor.

Also, Bargs has GOT to show up for us to have a shot at winning. It's one thing for him to put extra pressure on Lowry and DD to score when they're up against Ridnour and Roy. It's another thing for him to do that against Westbrook and Sefolosha especially when it also allows the best shot blocker in the league to sag off his man.

If Bargs is disengaged/throwing up bricks, it's gonna be a long night.

OKC definitely have lots of motivation on this one
1. bounce back game
2. home court
3. THEY WOULD WANT TO BEAT THE RAPTORS SPECIFICALLY & WISH US A BAD SEASON SO THEY'LL HAVE A HIGH LOTTERY PICK NEXT YEAR

Shutting him down is maybe a poor choice of words from my part, maybe to contain him and make things uncomfortable for him. The last thing I want to see is Durant going for 30+ points and getting easy baskets especially the last 5 minutes of the game. It will be especially dangerous if Kevin Martin gets hot from the 3 pointer because then you are really screwed.

Again I don't see the Raptors pulling this off unless Bargs gets that stick out of his ass and starts playing some serious basketball + Lowry and Derozan still continueing going strong.

Shutting him down is maybe a poor choice of words from my part, maybe to contain him and make things uncomfortable for him. The last thing I want to see is Durant going for 30+ points and getting easy baskets especially the last 5 minutes of the game. It will be especially dangerous if Kevin Martin gets hot from the 3 pointer because then you are really screwed.

Again I don't see the Raptors pulling this off unless Bargs gets that stick out of his ass and starts playing some serious basketball + Lowry and Derozan still continueing going strong.

I really have this weird gut feeling, that the bench & Front-court is going to be key against OKC. OKC doesn't have that great bench anymore other than maybe Kevin Martin.. No other significant pieces that make it competitive for guys like Durant and Westbrook.

If Derozan & Lowry have great games, it's not nearly going to be enough for the win. Nor don't I feel Derozan will have a great game, because he's being covered by Sefolosha.

Lowry vs. Westbrook match up should be interesting. Westbrook seems to always make his match up's personal and is always talking trash, and Lowry doesn't back down from anyone. Still it could be really tough for Lowry because Westbrook is such a big pg and really athletic.

I hope they both go off on each other in an epic duel between elite PGs, but I could be bias since I have both of them on my fantasy team.

Seriously though, this is a tough match-up for Lowry because of Westbrook's speed and explosiveness. But Lowry's no slouch and this should be a great head to head match-up. They actually are similar players in a lot of aspects, slightly undersized but very physical guards who are better scorers than passers and both defend hard. Westbrook is more explosive but Lowry has the better outside shot. Can't wait.

I foresee KD getting 35 points because we don't have enough wing defenders to slow him down and Ibaka is exactly the type of defender that will give Bargnani fits (fast, tall, and athletic). Ibaka can defend Barg's on the dribble drive, and still get a hand up on all his shots. I don't see Barg's bouncing back offensively but he could still have a good game if he stays active and draws Ibaka away from the hoop.

I think for the Raps to pull this one out, they'll need a monster performance on the glass, which would could do. JV is much more mobile than Perkins, and Amir has the length over Collison, so we could get an edge there if someone (Barg's - looking at you) can get a body on Ibaka.